Category: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

This topic provides the latest news articles and resources related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Check back here to keep informed.

vaccine

Preview of Things to Come? Lawsuit Challenges Employer’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Access to COVID-19 vaccines continues to expand in the United States, and employers are navigating many questions about employee vaccinations and return to work. Current polling shows a substantial number of workers are hesitant about getting the shots or may refuse to be vaccinated against the virus. Now, a New Mexico employee has filed what […]

virtual

Data Delve into Employee Preference for Remote Work

Employer and employee attitudes and expectations with respect to remote work have changed dramatically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting widespread shift to working from home. Initially, many workers and employers had the expectation that the changes would be brief and temporary—perhaps a few weeks before everyone returned to the office. […]

At the End of the Rainbow: Looking Past COVID-19

Last March, in a matter of days, most U.S. employers went from doing business as usual to fully or partially shutting down. At the same time, we watched the stock market tank and wondered if we would ever return to normal. One way or another, most employers regrouped and reenvisioned how they conducted their businesses, […]

engagement

Determining Whom to Bring Back to the Office

With multiple vaccines widely available and millions already vaccinated across the United States, the country is looking forward to returning to a world that, even if not exactly pre-pandemic “normal,” at least allows for the resumption of many in-person, group activities. This, of course, includes in-office work. Despite their worst fears, many companies have found […]

Alabama Enacts Law to Provide Immunity From COVID-19 Lawsuits

Persons who recover from COVID-19 are believed to develop immunity from further infection for some as-yet undetermined amount of time. On February 12, the Alabama Legislature created (and Governor Kay Ivey signed) a more certain form of immunity protecting businesses and other organizations from lawsuits that blame them for illness from the virus. The new […]

mentoring

Preparing for a Return to the Office

How prepared is your company for the post-COVID-19 world? We don’t want to convey false optimism, but we argue in this feature that it’s time to start thinking about a return to “normal” for your business. For a year now, the nation and the world have been in the throes of a global pandemic that […]

Vaccine

Study Shows Most Employees Will Get Vaccine

Dominating the news cycle and Zoom meeting conversations is, of course, COVID-19. Questions such as what a “new normal” will look like and when work-from-home employees will return to the office abound.

HR Works Podcast: No Vaccine or I Quit

Can you mandate vaccinations? And if you can, should you? What are the legal considerations of doing so? What are the medical and practical considerations? Finally, what do HR experts advise in order to maximize vaccination rates among employees? These are the answers that I attempt to answer in this episode. We are going to […]

travel

How to Handle Spring Break Travel in a COVID-19 World

After being cooped up for nearly a year because of COVID-19, many employees may be looking to take spring break getaways in the coming months. As is the case with most issues involving the pandemic, however, the travel opportunity creates several employment law concerns and considerations for employers to navigate.